‘I will never forget this place’: TJC tennis star talks journey from India to East Texas

TYLER, Texas ( KETK ) – Coming to another country is a big move in someone’s life, and that’s what one student-athlete did to play tennis at Tyler Junior College.

Calvin Golmei, from India, fell in love with the game of tennis at 15 years old.

“Maybe the attention part kind of gave me some kind of dopamine hit. So, yeah, that was the first time I think I got interested in tennis,” Golmei said.

He said he worked diligently while perfecting his craft, and that hard work between the white lines paid off. Golmei gained the attention of local tennis coaches that he considered mentors, guiding him through personal struggles, using the sport he loved so much as motivation.

“There was a time, I was lost I had no idea what to do with my life,” Golmei said. “They said that U.S. college would be the best option.”

Taking their advice to heart, Calvin looked to the internet and uploaded a video of him playing to YouTube.

His skills caught the eye of TJC coaches, landing him in the Piney Woods. A long way from home, the road from India to East Texas was not an easy one.

“Every small detail was different, like the food, the way the building system works, the roads, everything. It is completely different. It’s like a whole new world to me,” Golmei said.

“I remember when my first three months, I was struggling in terms of communication,” Golmei said. “I’m trying to understand what they are trying to say so it was hard for the first three months to acclimatize.”

“He was kind of quiet at first, a little bit shy even with the guys, you know, you feel like a group of guys, you’re going to just come out and blossom but he was a little bit shy,” added Coach Micah Avance.

Even while he was struggling to adjust, the one thing he and his new teammates did have in common was their love of tennis.

“I felt myself saying ‘this is the right place’, its like a rocket, you know, and I just launched towards the sky, and towards growth,” Golmei said. “TJC always and I will never forget this place.”

Just like Golmei struggled to adjust to American society, the Apaches Men’s Tennis Team battled through adversity, losing the national championship Golmei’s freshman year.

“The feeling of losing, being that close, they knew they needed to push themselves a little harder. A lot of them did extra and they didn’t just, you know, come here for practice and then go do their workouts,” Avance said.

With that bitter taste in their mouths, the Apaches got back to work hungry for more this past season.

“They worked out on their own, they ran, they did cardio and I think that set them apart and, you know, it paid off at the end of this last year,” Avance said.

The work Golmei and company put in paid off, winning the national championship just a year later.

Golmei credits his team for all of his success in the Piney Woods. Still, another surprise came for him when he was was named the first ever Kevin Vest Champion of Character Award.

“I was, like, kind of numb, and I was just moving slowly toward the award and, that was kind of emotional because Mr Kevin Vest it’s a gem of a person and he’s one of a kind,” Golmei said.

“Thing about him, He just always wants others to just enjoy the moment as much as him and to work hard, too. He knows what it takes to to do well in tennis,” Avance said.

Calvin is showing his leadership by giving back and teaching the next generation of tennis players.

“I want to impact life by by acting and not just thinking or saying, but acting,” Golmei said.

Through all the adversity and success, Golmei is the first in his family to go to another country, he said his family is proud.

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